Your employer brand is a huge part of your recruitment strategy, whether you focus on it or not. It can help attract applicants, retain employees, and contribute to your reputation among job seekers.
So what is an employer brand? Your employer brand is your organization’s reputation as an employer. Simply put, it’s what job seekers and employees think of you. And it already exists, whether or not you’ve focused on cultivating it.
Uncover
To start, it’s up to you to uncover your current brand. You can do this through a combination of methods, but the most important thing is to talk to your current employees. You can do this through interviews, focus groups, anonymous surveys, or casual conversations. Find out what makes your organization a great place to work, and what your employees enjoy about their jobs. You’ll likely be uncovering both “hard benefits” like pay, PTO and insurance offerings, and “soft benefits” like culture, flexibility and leadership.
Leverage
Now that you know the reasons people love working for your organization, it’s time to leverage that information. The possibilities are endless! This can be as simple as an employee spotlight on social media or as involved as a webpage and integrated campaign. Work these stories into your job postings to help attract candidates. A great place to start is including a paragraph in your job postings about the benefits of working at your organization, including both your benefits package and other “soft benefits” that you’ve uncovered from your employees. Make this paragraph part of a template that is added to every job posting across your organization and be sure to share more information with candidates during interviews.
Here are a few of our favorite examples from job descriptions showcasing the employer brand.
University of Idaho (Educating on the location)
Why U of I? Are you brave and bold? Come be a part of the Vandal family!
About the Area:
Located in the beautiful rolling hills of the Palouse, Moscow is a great place to live, work and play! In addition to housing our residential campus, this safe, close-knit community offers amazing restaurants, arts and entertainment, shopping, recreational activities, and breathtaking natural beauty.
In fact, Livability.com voted Moscow, Idaho as the number one place to raise a family in the United States.
SKIS Painting (Educating on brand)
Why SKIS
If you’re committed to customer service and producing an outstanding experience for our team, we think you’ll find SKIS to be an exciting, enjoyable place to contribute and grow. SKIS fosters an environment of teamwork with a commitment to excellence. It’s evident when you walk through our building or jobsites that we enjoy what we do. Whether it’s our jobsite lunches, leadership and field supervisor development programs, annual team member appreciation party, charity golf tournaments, or community service outings you’ll enjoy being part of our team! We’re currently growing and seeking dynamic individuals who also strive for growth and want to get better every day. We’re proud to offer full benefits, PTO, education assistance, weekly pay, and much more, because the investment begins with you.
University of Arizona (Educating on benefits)
Outstanding UArizona benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; state and optional retirement plans; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!
In addition, UArizona Life & Work Connections (LWC) designs and delivers value-added “whole person health” services: fitness, nutrition, mental and emotional health, dependent care services, educational seminars, and comprehensive web-based resources.
Maintain
Your employer brand is an ever-evolving asset. It’s important to regularly check in on your employees and continue gathering employee stories and feedback. But this doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task! Just a few hours per quarter can be enough to keep your brand strong and ensure you are utilizing to attract top talent to your organization.